American comics: I am full of martial virtues and I love to be kind to others.

This description shocked everyone. If the entire subway system had indeed been transformed into a giant organism by the symbiote, then traditional military operations would be completely ineffective.

“And it’s even worse,” the sergeant continued, “we’ve discovered some…breeding facilities.”

"What kind of breeding facilities?" Dr. Banner asked.

"They're like giant eggs, or cocoons," the sergeant described. "Each one is as big as a person, and you can see something moving inside. There are probably hundreds."

If new symbiotes are hatching inside these "cocoons," the scale of the threat will grow exponentially.

“We must destroy those breeding facilities,” Lynn decided, “but obviously we need to revise our strategy.”

“I recommend a temporary retreat and a reassessment,” Colonel Jackson proposed. “My troops need more specialized equipment and tactical training.”

But just then, the ground around them began to shake slightly, and the manhole covers made a clicking sound.

“They’re moving,” Sarah sensed the anomaly. “There’s a lot of activity underground.”

The vibrations grew stronger and stronger, soon turning into rhythmic knocking sounds, like something enormous marching underground.

"Everyone back off!" Lynn shouted.

Just as they retreated, several manhole covers suddenly burst open, and a large number of black tentacles emerged from the ground, trying to grab any living creature on the ground.

“They’re trying to break out!” Peter warned.

A massive symbiote emerged from the sewers, but this was no ordinary symbiote. The lower half of its body remained connected to the underground network of dark matter, like a giant neural node.

"What is this?" Emma asked, while preparing a freezing attack.

“It looks like some kind of monitor or communicator,” Dr. Banner analyzed. “It’s collecting information from the ground.”

The symbiote's head had countless eyes, each observing in a different direction. It didn't attack immediately, but instead carefully scanned everyone.

“It’s analyzing us,” Lynn realized, “gathering information about our capabilities and weaknesses.”

“Then we can’t let it finish the analysis,” Emma immediately launched an attack.

A powerful burst of freezing energy shot towards the monitoring symbiote, but surprisingly, it wasn't frozen. Instead, its body began to radiate intense heat, melting Emma's frost.

“It adapted to my attacks!” Emma exclaimed in shock.

The Hulk prepared to charge at the enemy, but the surveillance symbiote suddenly retreated underground, and the manhole cover closed again. The entire process took no more than thirty seconds.

“It withdrew after gathering enough information,” Peter analyzed. “This indicates that the underground symbiotic collective possesses a high level of intelligence and strategic thinking.”

This encounter made everyone realize that they were not facing a group of powerful individual beings, but an organized and intelligent collective consciousness.

“The situation is more serious than we imagined,” Lynn concluded. “The symbiotes have not only occupied advantageous terrain, but they have also established a complete ecosystem there. They have breeding facilities, defense networks, and even intelligence-gathering capabilities.”

“More importantly, they are learning and adapting,” Emma added. “It just successfully resisted my freezing attack, which has never happened before.”

Colonel Jackson's communicator rang, and an officer reported, "Colonel, we've detected similar surveillance activity at several other subway entrances. It appears they're conducting reconnaissance over the entire surface area."

“This is preparation for a large-scale attack,” Dr. Banner warned. “If they complete their analysis of our defenses, they could launch a full-scale ground attack.”

Just then, Lynn's communicator received an urgent message from command center: "Attention all units, we have detected a rapid increase in the number of heat sources within the subway system. Preliminary estimates indicate that the number of underground organisms has doubled in the past hour."

“The reproduction has accelerated,” Emily realized the gravity of the problem. “If they can replicate so quickly, we could soon be overwhelmed by numbers.”

“We need to act immediately,” Lynn decided. “We can’t wait any longer. Every minute of delay means more enemies and fewer chances of survival.”

"But the failure of the first assault has proven the ineffectiveness of traditional tactics," Colonel Jackson cautioned. "We need a completely different approach."

“You’re right,” Lynn pondered. “We need to utilize our unique advantage—the cooperation of superhumans.”

He began to devise a new plan. “Listen, we can’t just charge in head-on like a traditional army. We need to use Chen Kai’s teleportation ability for rapid reconnaissance and retreat, Sarah’s sensory abilities to detect threats in advance, and Emily’s medical knowledge to find the symbiote’s biological weaknesses.”

“My spider silk can provide mobility,” Peter added, “which could be very useful in underground tunnels.”

“I can provide defensive support,” Carlos said. “Although space is limited, the energy barrier is still effective.”

“Very good,” Lynn continued, “but we still need to solve a fundamental problem: how to eliminate the symbiote infection without harming the hostages.”

“I have an idea,” Emily said. “Based on the situation with the partially infected soldiers we just discussed, I think there might be a window of opportunity to control the symbiotes.”

"What's the meaning?"

“Infection doesn’t happen instantly; it’s a gradual process,” Emily explained. “If we can intervene before full infection, there might still be a chance to save lives.”

"What do you need?" Lynn asked.

“A large number of nerve stabilizers and bioelectric stimulation devices,” Emily listed, “If we could set up a temporary medical station on-site, we might be able to treat patients while we fight.”

This idea is forward-thinking, but it also means greater risks and more complex operations.

“I support this plan,” Dr. Banner said. “As a scientist, I believe that rescuing hostages is more important than a simple military victory.”

“I agree,” Emma nodded, “and my freezing abilities might be helpful in the medical process; low temperatures can slow the progression of infection.”

Colonel Jackson considered for a moment. “Alright, my troops can provide fire support and logistical support. But I insist that if the situation becomes too dangerous, we must prioritize securing the evacuation route.” “Agreed,” Lynn nodded. “Now let’s begin the detailed planning.”

Just as they were making plans, the ground began to shake again, this time much more violently than before.

"What's going on now?" Chen Kai asked nervously.

The tremors lasted for several minutes, then suddenly stopped. Immediately afterwards, all the sealed subway entrances opened simultaneously, and the black substance retreated deep underground.

“What does this mean?” Sarah asked, puzzled.

Lynn observed the suddenly opened subway entrance, a sense of unease creeping into his heart. "This isn't surrender, it's an invitation."

“An invitation?” Peter repeated.

“They want us in,” Lynn realized. “It’s a trap, an elaborate trap.”

“But we have no choice,” Dr. Banner pointed out. “If we don’t go in, the hostages have no chance of survival. And the breeding process continues.”

“You’re right,” Lynn finally decided, “we know it’s a trap, but we’ll still go in. However, we’ll go in with our own advantages.”

"What advantages?" Colonel Jackson asked.

Lynn looked at his team and new allies. "Our strength lies in adaptability and innovation. Symbiotes may evolve rapidly, but their thinking remains based on biological instincts. Human creativity and cooperation, however, are unpredictable and impossible to simulate."

“Then let’s get started now,” Emma said, “the sooner the better.”

“Wait,” Lynn gestured, raising his hand, “before we go in, we need to establish communication protocols and an evacuation plan. Once underground, we might lose contact with command center.”

Over the next thirty minutes, they devised a detailed action plan, including entry routes, communication methods, medical assistance procedures, and most importantly, an emergency evacuation plan.

"Everyone, check your equipment," Lynn gave the final order. "We're about to enter hell."

Once everything was ready, Lynn stood in front of the nearest subway entrance, looking at the dark staircase leading underground. He knew that once he took that step, there might be no turning back.

"Are you ready?" he asked the team members.

"Ready," everyone answered in unison.

“Then let’s go down, rescue the hostages, and destroy the symbiote’s base,” Lynn said firmly, “no matter the cost.”

He was the first to walk down the stairs, followed closely by the others.

The moment Lynn took her first step down the subway stairs, she immediately sensed something was amiss. A strange, sweet, fishy smell filled the air, and the walls and staircases were covered with a thin layer of black substance that felt damp and slightly warm to the touch, like living skin.

“Everyone stay alert,” Lynn commanded in a low voice. “Sarah, can you sense anything?”

Sarah focused her mind to probe, then frowned after a few seconds. "It's strange. I sense a lot of life signs, but their energy signatures are chaotic, like many different consciousnesses are fighting within the same body."

“Those are infected hostages,” Emily analyzed. “The symbiote hasn’t fully taken control of them yet, so there’s a conflict of consciousness.”

They continued downwards and soon reached the platform level. The sight before them made everyone gasp: the entire subway station had been transformed by black organic matter. The original tile and concrete surfaces were covered with structures resembling blood vessels and nerves, thick tentacles hung from the ceiling, and the floor was covered with vein-like grooves flowing with glowing slime.

“This isn’t a subway station anymore,” Peter said in shock. “This is the interior of some kind of organism.”

"Maintain formation," Lynn commanded. "Chen Kai on the left flank, Carlos on the right, Peter on the high ground, Emily and Sarah in the middle, Emma and Dr. Banner at the rear."

They had barely formed their formation when the first wave of attacks began. A dozen or so symbiotes surged forth simultaneously from the ceiling, walls, and even the ground. But these symbiotes were completely different from those they had encountered before—they maintained a basic human form, but their entire bodies were covered in black matter, they moved with incredible speed, and each emitted energy fluctuations equivalent to those of mutants.

" Engage the enemy!" Lynn shouted, immediately throwing himself into battle.

The first symbiote to pounce on Lynn displayed superhuman speed, almost becoming a black shadow. But Lynn reacted even faster, dodging the symbiote's attack to the side while simultaneously delivering a precise elbow strike to its temple. The force of the blow was enough to knock down a bull, but the symbiote only staggered slightly before turning to retaliate.

"These symbiotes are incredibly strong!" Lynn analyzed as he fought, "Several times stronger than ordinary humans!"

The symbiote's claws shot towards Lynn's chest with lightning speed. Lynn leaned back, the claws grazing his nose and sending a whiff of blood flying. Taking advantage of the symbiote's missed attack, Lynn grabbed its arm and used leverage to slam it heavily to the ground.

A tremendous crash resounded, cracking the concrete floor. But the symbiote was almost unharmed; it rolled on the ground, immediately stood up again, and looked even angrier than before.

“Conventional attacks are ineffective,” Lynn adjusted his tactics, drawing a specially made combat knife from his waist. “We need more direct damage.”

Meanwhile, the other team members also got into a fierce battle.

Chen Kai was caught in a pincer attack by two symbiotes. He used his teleportation ability to move quickly between them, trying to find an opportunity to strike. But these symbiotes reacted extremely quickly, almost predicting his teleportation location. When Chen Kai appeared behind one of the symbiotes, it immediately turned around, its sharp claws aimed straight for his neck.

Chen Kai barely managed to dodge using teleportation, but the second symbiote had already blocked his retreat. The two symbiotes attacked simultaneously, forcing Chen Kai to teleport repeatedly, but each time he narrowly escaped death.

"They've learned to coordinate!" Chen Kai reported breathlessly, "and they can even predict my movement patterns!"

Carlos's situation was equally dire. While his energy barrier could temporarily halt the symbiotes' attacks, the monsters were too powerful, cracking with each impact. Worse still, the symbiotes began attacking simultaneously from different angles, making it impossible for him to cover all directions.

“My barrier won’t hold for long!” Carlos warned, sweat already beading on his forehead.

Peter used his silk to move through the air, attempting to attack from above. But the symbiote displayed an astonishing ability to climb, moving freely across walls and ceilings like a real spider, without slowing down.

A symbiote hangs upside down from the ceiling and lunges at Peter. Peter shoots out a web to try to bind it, but the symbiote's claws easily cut the web.

“My spider silk is ineffective against them!” Peter tumbled through the air to dodge. “Their claws are too sharp!” (End of Chapter)